The European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR) is an organization actively operating in Lithuania since 2010. It was established in response to the striking increase of the abuses of human and national minority rights in Lithuania observed after joining the European Union.

Monthly Archives: February 2010

Facts: The case concerns the ownership of a plot of land in the city centre of Kaunas, Lithuania. The plot was nationalised following the Soviet occupation in the 1940s. Ownership of the houses was attributed to Mr Nekvedavičius’ father’s former wife, who continued living there until ownership was transferred to third persons in the 1960s.…

Facts: The applicant, Andrejus Novikas, is a Lithuanian national. Following a report to the police by two witnesses, on April 1998 a pre-trial investigation was initiated regarding several crimes and on 28 April 1998 the applicant’s place of residence was searched. On September 1999 the applicant was officially informed of the accusations, questioned as an…

Facts: The applicant, Juozas Padalevičius, is a Lithuanian national. The case concerned Mr Padalevičius’s complaint about the excessive length of civil litigation and about the annulment of the land-purchase agreement. He further argued that the compensation granted to him by the domestic courts for that land had been derisory. Mr Padalevičius became the owner of…

Facts: The applicant, Rolandas Paksas, is a former President of Lithuania who was removed from office by Parliament following impeachment proceedings for committing a gross violation of the Constitution and breaching the constitutional oath. The Constitutional Court found that, while in office as President, the applicant had, unlawfully and for his own personal ends, granted…

Facts: The applicant, Kęstas Ramanauskas, is a Lithuanian national. He worked as a prosecutor in the Kaišiadorys region. He submitted that he had been approached through a private acquaintance by a person previously unknown to him who was, in fact, an officer from a special anti-corruption police unit. The officer offered the applicant a bribe…

Facts: The case concerned Mr Savenkovas’ complaint about the conditions of his detention in Vilnius prisons until July 2003 and the censorship of his correspondence by the prison administration. The Applicant, a person with previous convictions, was convicted in October 2000 of robbery, illegal possession of ammunition, assault and an attempt to abscond. He was…

Facts: The case concerns two applicants, Mr Juozas Sidabras and Mr Kęstutis Džiautas, who are both Lithuanian nationals. They both worked for the Lithuanian branch of the KGB (the Soviet Security Service). After 1990, the first Applicant, Mr Sidabras, found employment as a tax inspector at the Inland Revenue and the second Applicant, Mr Džiautas, worked…

Facts: The case concerns the complaint by the applicant about the Lithuanian courts having taken decisions in his case on the basis of classified evidence presented by the police and never disclosed to him. The applicant held a firearms licence which was revoked by the Lithuanian authorities on the grounds that he was listed in…

Facts: The case concerned an application brought by a Lithuanian national, Mr L. At birth he was registered as a girl, with a name clearly identifiable as female. However, from an early age, he submits that he felt his gender was male rather than female. Although he was diagnosed as a transsexual his doctor initially…

Facts: In 2003 the Applicant, together with his accomplice, was convicted by the Kaišiadorys District Court of attempted drug dealing in large quantities. The court established that the offence had been disclosed using a “Criminal Conduct Simulation Model” which had been authorized for use by the Prosecutor General on 29 May 2002. The Court found that…

Facts: The case concerned Ms Pyrantienė’s complaint about the level of compensation she had received when the Lithuanian authorities had repossessed a plot of land she had once owned. In 1996 Ms Pyrantienė acquired the 0.5 hectare plot of land from the State. However, a number of years later the sale was quashed by the…

Facts: The Applicant, Mr Juozas Valašinas, is a Lithuanian national. The case concerned the conditions of the Applicant’s detention in Pravieniškės prison and his treatment there. The arguments of the Applicant concerned were as follows: General conditions of detention Specific acts by the prison administration: The body search of 7 May 1998 Alleged victimization of…

In the Chamber’s judgment in the case of UŽUKAUSKAS v. LITHUANIA, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 6 of the Convention (right to a fair hearing). Principal facts: The applicant, Mr Robertas Užukauskas, is a Lithuanian citizen. The case originates from the claim of the…

Facts: Mr Lalas is a Lithuanian national. The case concerned his complaint that an undercover police officer had entrapped him into supplying drugs in June 2002 and that subsequently he had been unfairly convicted and sentenced. He further complained about the non-disclosure at his trial of certain evidence relating to the authorisation and use of…

Facts: On February 2001, Ms Valiulienė applied to the city district court to bring a private prosecution, stating that she had been beaten by her partner J.H.L. on several occasions. In January 2002, a judge of that court forwarded her complaint to the public prosecutor, ordering him to start his own pre-trial criminal investigation. J.H.L.…

Facts: The case concerned the applicant’s complaint that he had been denied conjugal visits from his wife, despite repeated requests, while convicted prisoners were allowed such visits. In March 2004, the applicant was placed in pre-trial detention, where he spent more than two years until, in June 2006, he was convicted of a number of…

Facts: In May 2003 the Lithuanian authorities issued farmers with permits to hold peaceful assemblies in selected areas. The farmers held a peaceful demonstration, but after it dispersed it caused major traffic disruptions on three main roads. After a successful settlement with the Government, the protest ended. However, criminal charges of rioting were brought against…

Facts: In October 2006, the applicant was detained for seven days at the Anykščiai Police Remand Facility. The applicant complained to the administration of the Anykščiai Facility that the conditions of his detention had been appalling. In their reply, they explained that full-scale renovation would be required, but said that this was precluded owing to…

Facts: The applicant, Vytautas Karalevičius, is a Lithuanian national. On 31 December 1996 Šiauliai City District Court ordered his detention on remand. He was convicted of forgery and suppressing documents on 10 September 1998 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. He appealed. On 24 October 2000 the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to three years’…

Facts: The Applicants, Mrs Regina Juozaitienė (1st Applicant) and Mr Jonas Bikulčius (2nd Applicant), are Lithuanian nationals. The case consists of the criminal proceedings against the driver and the police officer. On the evening of Friday 24 July 1998 the sons of the Applicants were found dead in a car with single gunshot wounds to their…